VLADIMIR SOFRONITZKY

Edition (Russian Archives)

CD1

Alexandre Scriabin (1872-1915)

Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor Op. 23

CD2

Alexandre Scriabin (1872-1915)

Preludes

CD3

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Petite Suite

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Tales of an Old Grandmother Op. 31

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Moment Musical Op. 16

Etude-tableau Op. 33 & 39

CD4

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Mazurkas

CD5

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

24 Preludes Op. 28

CD6

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Nocturnes

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Sonata in D major Op. 28 “Pastoral”

Felix Mendelssohn(1809-1847)

Variations sérieuses, Op. 54

CD7

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Années de Pelerinage , 2nd Year: Italy

Schubert Songs, transcribed by Franz Liszt

CD8

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Piano Sonata in B flat major D 960

Piano Sonata in A minor D784

CD9

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Wanderer Fantasy in C major Op.15 D 760

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

3 Pieces from Bunte Blätter Op. 99

Carnaval Op. 9

Emil Gilels called Vladimir Sofronitzky ‘the greatest piano player in the world’. When he and Richter met, Sofronitzky declared ‘You are a Genius!’. ‘You are a God!’ came back the reply. The latest in the acclaimed series of Russian Archive releases explores the legacy of Sofronitzky thanks to live recordings made at his concerts in Moscow and St Petersburg and rarely heard since outside a coterie of devoted admirers. He played a relatively small repertoire compared to the all-embracing enthusiasms of Yudina, Richter or Gilels: like Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, he devoted himself only to that music and those composers who chimed deep within him. That Chopin and Scriabin were first among them tells us much about Sofronitzky the man and musician: an archetypal Romantic, hypersensitive, gentle yet impassioned, uncomfortable with concerto collaboration, happiest when holding an audience in the palm of his hand. He played only in the big cities. He hardly ever toured abroad, content to remain within but apart from the Communist state. His impulse for spontanous musical communication meant that he rarely entered the studio, and felt uncomfortable within it: to hear why his technically superb but heartfelt interpretations excite responses such as ‘transcendental’, the concert-hall recording is the most reliable and most thrilling guide.

Sofronitzky’s fiery and poetic responses to Chopin and Scriabin can be sampled here in abundance, but so can his mastery in Schubert - he is one in a line of great Russian Schubertians including Yudina, Richter and Afanassiev. In fact Yudina and Sofronitzky were students together and shared the Gold medal upon their graduation in 1921. On that occasion they both played the B minor Sonata of Franz Liszt, and Sofronitzky’s ideally flexible mastery of the Hungarian composer is evident in the selection from the Années de Pélèrinage on CD7 of the present set. Always at the mercy of a heart condition, Sofronitzky the Suffering Artist par excellence, outwardly vulnerable but burning with genius. Going to a Sofronitzky concert, remarked Stanislav Neuhaus, was like going on a blind date: ‘anticipating something completely unknown, mysterious and wonderful, in other words, a miracle […] He approached the piano, and the magic began.’

Fresh remasterings made especially for this set.

Extensive booklet notes on the works and Sofronitzky’s responses to them, including a personal memoir written for the set by his daughter Viviana.

Brilliant Classics 9cds 8975